SYTYCD: Tyce D in the house!

::Now before things get started, I’d just like to address the idea of ranking the seasons according to greatness. Some people are trying to say this season is the best/has the best talent. Stop the madness!

What is true is that this season is much more evenly matched than previous seasons. We’re at the top 12 now, and it will be hard from now on to see who should be out, because there aren’t many shining stars. Ade and Melissa have captured everyone’s hearts, but not as much as last year’s team to beat: Katee and Joshua [they were HOT!]. But everyone else this season has been…good. Not stellar.

Something else that’s true: this season has a wider range of genres represented by the dancers. Melissa’s the first classical ballerina on the show, and Evan is (I think) the first Broadway baby. But we’re still left with an abundance of contemporary and only one hip-hopper and…one (?) ballroom/latin dance person in the top 12. I’m still rooting for a tapper to make it to the top 20.

Melissa and Ade are up first with a disco number from Doriana Sanchez. Cross your fingers, cuz disco can go either way. As Ade said “It could go really good, or really bad”. And boy. That was hard on Melissa. Ade didn’t struggle as much as Melissa, and I think the judges bias shines through for these two in their responses. Yeah the lifts were awesome, but the floor work? Not so much. But yeah, since she’s a ballerina, I can give her a pass.

Kupono and Kayla get to work with Mia Michaels on a piece that was all about addiction. It was unbelievable. Very strong. Almost hurtful. But exactly what it was supposed to be. Kupono was definitely in character. I don’t know how to descibe Kayla’s performance, but she was very into it. Almost faceless though. Truly, her part didn’t stick with me as much because – as Nigel said – we couldn’t see her face because of her hair. Maybe it was a good thing, cuz it seemed to fit the piece…

Caitlin and Jason do Foxtrot with the Meredith. I don’t love this couple. I don’t love the Foxtrot. And after a piece that struck us with emotion, and an action packed piece before that, this one is falling flat for me. Mary called it tremendous. I think maybe the judges are hyping them cuz Foxtrot is boring. They look elegant, but…it was.not.fun.

Jeanine and Phillip will do the Kalinka choreographed by Youri Nelzie and Lilia Babenko. This is going to be hard. Russian folkdancing, though – will definitely be cool to watch. And it was hard. And it was cool to watch. It was…cute. I think the difficulty level was there in parts, so, some moments were…different.

Randi and Evan! [Love them!] tabitha and napoleon. blah. But I like this routine. LOVE it. It was the soft hip-hop that this couple can do. They were super-adorable! I just love them. I agree with TyceD, tho, Evan has more that he can bring. And Randi? I just love her. Am I gushing? Aw – who cares. Share the love, y’all.

Brandon and Janette are doing the Mark Sanford soulmate dance Argentine Tango by Miriam Larici and Leonardo Barrionuevo. There was a really nice lift at the beginning that caught me by surprise, and then some cool footwork…but..I thought the music chosen hurt the cause of the dancers. I didn’t get the heat that I think you’re meant to get with the Tango. But Nigel gave them a standing O, Mary put them on the hot-tamale train, TyceD said something about juicing an orange that got kinda weird…

Dance #2 coming up. And NewsFlash! Next week is a big partner switchup! No more Melissa and Ade? Awwww.

A Waltz from Ron Montez is their last dance. Beautiful. Perfect harmony of song and choreo. And Mary just called Nigel an English muffin. That was hilarious. Tyce gave some good advice.

Broadway from Joey Dowling = K&K’s last dance. Love at first sight. From The Dance at the Gym [West Side Story]. That didn’t get me at all. After having actually seen West Side Story, I don’t see the choreo playing well with the idea of first love…I definitely felt like they could’ve gone into the floor a bit more.

Lyrical Jazz by Mandy Moore is the C&K sendoff. I’m happy with that. I hope they do as well and they think they will. I do think they did well. Much of it felt effortless for them, though there were some moments I felt could’ve been better. Agreeing with Mary, I didn’t get the *magic* that can sometimes come to the pieces.

***is it the job of the guest choreo judge to thank the choreographer of each piece? sometimes that gets old***

Jive from Tony Meredith is gonna be rough on P&J. But I think that’s the best I’ve ever seen Phillip do on his footwork. Nigel noticed, too. Phillip really has improved. Jeanine was great, and she’s been a real trooper with Phillip all this time. Her faces were great, too.

To me, Evan and Randi are the best couple as far as a pair. Now they’re doing a samba from Pascha and Anya. What a dance to draw. This is one of those dances that I think height might make a difference in. I dunno. Definitely, the choreographers could’ve done it better. But then, that’s cuz it’s their style. I don’t think Randi carried this. I think she looked as ridiculous as Evan.

Janette = fun. loud. Cuban. How can you not love that? So J&B are doing jazz by Wade Robson. What a superfun piece! Great way to end the show. Janette has been freakin’ awesome, really. And Brandon – of course. I am sad about the end of that partnership, cuz they’re great together. Excellence.

Who do I think will be in the bottom tomorrow night? Caitlin and Jason. Jeanine and Phillip. Randi and Evan. (sniff)